Daylight saving time is used in Cuba to save energy and to make better use of sunlight, according to Cuba’s Electric Union (cited in Radio Reloj).

Cuba is five hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), or UTC -5 hours during the non-daylight saving period. It will be on UTC -4 hours when it starts daylight saving time.

Energy Saving Measure

Cuba’s government hopes that the decision to adopt daylight saving time in the country would reduce use of artificial lighting, thus reducing electricity consumption. The extra hour of natural sunlight will save energy during peak hours, particularly when artificial light is used for cooking during meal times in homes.

Cuba’s Electric Union states that everything is done to achieve a more rational use of energy and believes that daylight saving time will benefit the country’s citizens.

History

Daylight saving time was first introduced in Cuba in 1928 but it was not widely accepted until World War II. After the war, daylight saving time was no longer observed until 1965. In 2004 Cuba remained on daylight saving time until October 29, 2006. Cuba was in a perpetual state of daylight saving time during that period. After two years operating all year-round without changing from “summer” to "normal" time, Cuba decided to re-establish standard time on October 29, 2006.

Cuba again observed daylight saving time in 2007 and 2008. It was announced on March 4, 2009, that Cuba would observe daylight saving time again in 2009, starting at midnight between March 7 and March 8. timeanddate.com will provide more information on the length of the 2009 daylight saving schedule as it comes on hand. Daylight saving time ended on the last Sunday of October from 2006 to 2008.

Regardless of Cuba’s daylight saving plans in the future, the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base observes daylight saving time in synchronization with its Florida headquarters in the United States.